


A Secret Place

by slightlytookish



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Community: renlylorasfest, Courtship, First Date, First Kiss, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-03
Updated: 2012-10-03
Packaged: 2017-11-15 13:37:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/527886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightlytookish/pseuds/slightlytookish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the prompt "Renly and Loras' first 'date' (canon)" for the Happy Endings Comment Fest at <a href="http://renlylorasfest.livejournal.com">renlylorasfest</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Secret Place

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Секретное место](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1355269) by [Olivin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olivin/pseuds/Olivin)



"We're almost there," Renly said, and for some reason he looked nervous as he urged his horse forward. 

It surprised Loras, because Renly never let it show when he was worried, but all he said was, "Where are we going?"

He'd asked more than once since they left the castle, and each time he received nothing but smiles and cryptic answers in return. Even now Renly shrugged and grinned so widely that Loras almost forgot his anxious expression from just a moment ago. Almost.

"It's just over there," Renly said, as if he hadn't been promising that for the past hour. But this time he pulled on the reins and Loras did the same, slowing his horse to a walk as he followed Renly through the trees and into a large clearing.

Loras had believed that he'd seen every inch of the Stormlands during his time as Renly's squire but now he knew that he was wrong, because he had never seen this place before. The trees were packed so closely together in this part of the woods that the clearing was impossible to see from the road; he never would have found his way here if Renly had not been there to guide him. 

And now that he was here Loras could only look around in awe, his eyes darting between the overgrown branches high above to the sunlight that filtered through the trees and made shifting patterns on the grass. Everything was so green that he could almost imagine that he was back in the Reach, and for a moment he was so stunned by it all that he didn't see the roses growing under one of the trees – golden roses, in a shade that only could have come from Highgarden. 

He dismounted and was halfway across the clearing before he realized that Renly was following behind him, laughing. He spun around to look at him, though his eyes kept stealing glances at the flowers. "Where did you – how-?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you so speechless," Renly said, still grinning, and for once Loras didn't mind his teasing. "I got the cuttings from your mother when we last visited. I wasn't sure if they'd grow here – the soil isn't right, as you know – and for a while it seemed as though they might fail but it looks like they're thriving now."

They certainly were thriving. Perhaps they weren't as large as the roses at Highgarden, nor as numerous, but they were healthy and beautiful and they made Loras' heart do a little flip whenever he looked at them. They made him think of home, and they made him think of Renly too, and he had to remind himself that in all likelihood they were nothing more than a gesture of kindness. Renly was generous; he was always giving people little tokens of affection, and in his mind these roses might not mean much more than the extra apple tart he'd given Loras yesterday morning. Still, Loras had to ask.

"Why did you want to grow them? Here, I mean." 

"For you, of course," Renly said. He gave Loras a curious look, as if he was puzzled by the question. "Why else? Do you like them?" 

"I love them," Loras said, stealing another glance at the roses before he turned back to Renly. "But I meant, why plant them here, in this place? Why not in the castle gardens?"

"I was afraid that the sea air would be too harsh for them. And-" Here Renly faltered, and that odd nervous look crossed his face again before he chased it away with a laugh. "I lied to you just now." 

Loras swallowed. "Oh." He tried not to let the disappointment show on his face.

"It's nothing bad!" Renly said, stepping closer. He ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up at an odd angle. "It's just that I didn’t grow them for you alone. I grew them for me, too."

"You?" Loras stared up at him. "But why?"

"Because they remind me of you," Renly mumbled, looking wretched. "And someday you'll leave Storm's End and I wanted a piece of you to remain here, in my own favourite spot. I've never brought anyone here before so I knew that no one would happen by to pluck or disturb these flowers in any way. I was being very selfish, you see." 

He smiled then, though it was a poor imitation of his usual bright grin. It made Loras' heart do another of those funny flips and he found himself reaching for Renly's hand, wanting to reassure him. But he drew back at the last moment and all he said was, "I'll never leave you."

"You will," Renly said with that same sad smile. "You're a man grown already; sooner or later your father will find you a bride and you'll have a household of your own."

" _You're_ not married, and you're even older than I am," Loras pointed out, which made Renly laugh. Loras was glad to hear him sounding almost cheerful again, and he couldn't help grinning at the sound. "Anyway, I don't want to marry. There's no need for me to, when my brothers can continue the line. So you see, there's no reason why I'd ever have to leave your side."

"You might change your mind-"

"I won't-"

"Very well, but you won't be a squire forever. You'll be a knight soon enough, and you'll go back to Highgarden, or maybe even to King's Landing, and you'll be so busy winning all the tourneys that you won't have time to spare a thought for me."

"If you truly believe that then you almost would deserve to be forgotten, just for being so foolish," Loras said, and now he didn't hesitate to reach for Renly's hand and brush a kiss across the knuckles.

Renly's fingers tightened around his own, and when Loras looked up he saw that Renly was staring at him with undisguised astonishment. "Do you mean that?" he said softly. "Please tell me that you mean it."

"Which part?" Loras said. "The part about never leaving you? Or when I said I'd never marry or move to King's Landing, of all places? Or did you mean the bit about you being very, very foolish? Because it's all true, I'm afraid. Every word of it."

By now it looked like Renly was trying not to laugh. His other hand landed on Loras' waist and pulled him close. "Would you suffer a fool's request for a kiss?" he said.

His face was so close and yet not close enough at all, and Loras' heart was beating so quickly that he thought it was going to leap out of his chest and into one of the trees. "Yes," he said, and tugged Renly the rest of the way into a kiss. 

They were both a bit shy at first, but then Renly's hand found its way into Loras' hair and tangled in his curls, and Loras' hand landed on Renly's jaw and his thumb scraped against his stubbled chin, and suddenly they were pressing closer than before. Loras kissed back harder and when he felt Renly's tongue swipe across his lips he opened to him eagerly. 

When the kiss finally ended his knees felt like jelly, and Loras was sure that his heart really would beat its way out of his chest. He couldn't stop grinning, and he was relieved to see that Renly was smiling, too. "I hope you believe me now. Or do you need more convincing?"

"I wouldn't say no to that," Renly said, laughing as he leaned in to steal another kiss. But when he drew away he looked serious again and pulled Loras into a hug, resting his chin on Loras' shoulder. "Already this is more than I ever hoped for."

Loras smiled against Renly's neck. "Did you hope? I'd like to hear all about that."

Renly laughed again, a happy rumble that Loras felt where their chests were pressed together. "I suppose I was feeling very, very hopeful today."

Loras immediately thought of the roses before casting his mind even further back to the guards Renly had dismissed when they left the castle that morning, to the lunch Renly had packed for them on his own, repeatedly insisting that he didn't need Loras' help. He thought of this secret clearing, this beautiful place that Renly had never shared with anyone before, and he leaned back from the embrace to meet Renly's eyes.

"All this today… are you courting me?"

Two bright spots of colour appeared high on Renly's cheekbones. 

"You are!" Loras beamed at him. "Flowers, food, a secret meeting place… what's next, dancing? Do you have musicians hidden in the trees?"

"You don't need to look so smug about it," Renly grumbled. His blush was creeping all over his face now, but he met Loras' eyes and smiled. "I thought that at worst, it would just be a pleasant afternoon with my squire. At best…"

"We would have this," Loras said, before pulling Renly into another kiss.


End file.
